


Sweet Heat

by simplyambyy



Series: A Celebration of Buddie [2]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Eddie Can Actually Cook Something, Holidays, Hot Chocolate, M/M, Mexican Hot Chocolate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21648343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyambyy/pseuds/simplyambyy
Summary: "Whoa, whoa, man. Hot chocolate is hot because of the temperature, not because of the ingredients."Moving his arm, Eddie continued to put a dash or two of the ground chili pepper into the sauce pan as his other hand continued to stir its contents with a wooden spoon."Traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate is made with a touch of spice for a little kick. Don't worry, I won't ruin your delicate palate."
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: A Celebration of Buddie [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562698
Comments: 15
Kudos: 235





	Sweet Heat

It was a surprisingly chilly day at the firehouse and for some reason, the bay doors were open, adding to the coolness. The emergency calls were steady, but not overwhelming, which the crew was used to, especially during the holidays. It was now hour 22 in a 24-hour shift and while some of the crew - Hen and Chim - were enjoying the lull by taking a nap, Captain Bobby wsa dealing with paperwork in his office. (But if you asked Buck, that meant he was probably "boo-loving" on the phone with Athena). 

Eddie and Buck, on the other hand, were in the kitchen, Buck looking around for something to warm him up while Eddie was juggling all five of his siblings in the family text group chat. The sounds of cabinet doors closing, boxes shifting, and Buck's murmurs of frustration kept pulling him out of his phone.

"Why don't you just drink some coffee?" Eddie suggested, not even looking in the blond's direction.

Buck let out an exasperated sigh.

"Because," he dragged out as if he were explaining himself for the up-teeth time. "If I drink anything with caffeine, I won't be able to sleep when I get back to my apartment. So, yeah, no coffee, and the only non-caffeinated tea we have is Hen's 'special tea' and she threatened to cut off my hair and feed it to me if I drank it without her permission...again."

"So go wake her up," Eddie said, smirking as he typed a reply on his phone.

Wondering why Buck didn't give a response, the brunet looked up and saw the flat look on his face. He backtracked in his mind, recalling his last words and nodded in understanding. 

"Ah, right," he said, remembering just how pissed Hen was the last time she was woken up at work for any non-work-related reason. That was a wrath he was looking to avoid for the rest of his days if he were being honest.

Buck turned back towards the cabinet, standing up on his tippy-toes to reach the back of the shelf. His hand wrapped around a small box and after pulling it down, a smile formed on his face.

"Yes!" He whooped, dropping the blue box onto the counter top before turning to fill the kettle with water and placing on the stove. 

With the water heating, Buck grabbed his favorite mug - the one with a rhino graphic and the text 'save the chubby unicorn' on the front - from the dish draining rack as well as a silver spoon. Tearing into the box, Buck pulled out a packet of the powdered hot chocolate and tore it open, dumping the contents into his mug.

"Are you even sure that's not expired?" Eddie's voice sounded from over his shoulder, causing Buck to jump and clutch his chest.

"Jesus, a warning would be nice," he said before he started to examine the empty packet for a sell-by date. Not finding one, he shrugged. "It's freaking powder. It doesn't 'expire.'"

Shaking his head at Buck's words, Eddie returned the stove off and grabbed both the empty packet and Buck's mug, dancing just out of reach from Buck's grabby hands. 

"What are you doing, Eddie?" He asked, trying to stop the other man from dump his hot chocolate powder into the trash can, but he wasn't quick enough.

"What did you do that for?" Buck whined, a dejected smile on his face as he looked at the brown powder sitting on the top of the trash. 

"Because, I am going to make you my abuelita's Mexican hot chocolate, or well, as close to it as I can get because I'm pretty sure I won't find any Mexican chocolate or a molinillo in this kitchen," Eddie said, clamping a hand on Buck's shoulder and turning him around and away from the trash can. 

Buck's brows furrowed as he considered the fact that he's never really seen his best friend make anything that wasn't basic or from a box. He followed the brunet back to the cabinets, leaning against the island counter as he watched Eddie looking through the cabinets and refrigerator. 

"But Eddie, you can't cook," Buck said, receiving a frown in return.

"I can cook, just not very well." He put a small sauce pot on the stove and turned the pilot on. "Besides, my abuelita would kill me if I butchered her recipe. Only a few member of the Diaz family were lucky enough to be privy to the recipe."

A pause.

"It's because Christopher loves it, right?"

"Shut up," Eddie said, his cheeks and the tips of his ears turning red with embarrassment. 

Buck let out a chuckle, walking towards the brunet and clamping a hand on his far shoulder giving it a squeeze as he leaned against the counter next to the stove.

"Nah, I'm only messing with you, Eddie. I'm sure your abuela would be glad to know that you're still making her recipes for Christopher...or for me."

An amusing smile spread across the older man's face as he shook his head. He began to pour the ingredients he foraged for into the saucepan using his eye. First the milk, which he allowed to get to a simmer before adding in cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract. When he grabbed the chili powder, Buck put his hand on Eddie's arm, stopping him.

"Whoa, whoa, man. Hot chocolate is hot because of the temperature, not because of the ingredients."

Moving his arm, Eddie continued to put a dash or two of the ground chili pepper into the sauce pan as his other hand continued to stir its contents with a wooden spoon. 

"Traditional Mexican Hot Chocolate is made with a touch of spice for a little kick. Don't worry, I won't ruin your delicate palate." 

Buck didn't really believe him about the second part as he watched the other man swapped the chili powder for the container of ground cayenne. Still, he trusted Eddie to not kill him via spicy peppers so instead he tried not to worry about it. Judging by the frown on Eddie's face, he was not hiding his worry well. 

"Why don't you put those ingredients away and grab another mug for me while I finish up here?" Eddie suggested, shaking bittersweet chocolate chips into the pan.

Leaving the unused marshmallows, Buck grabbed the leftover spice containers and milk jug, putting them back into their respective storage spaces. He grabbed Eddie's favorite mug, the one Christopher had given him as a gift when he finished his probation which a cartoon firetruck picture and the text 'my hero is a firefighter and I call him dad' on the front. He also grabbed his own mug and rinsed out the powder residue in the sink before carrying both mugs back over to Eddie who was turning off the burner.

"Here, come try this," Eddie said as Buck approached.

He lifted the wooden spoon that held about a tablespoon of the hot chocolate in the small bowl up towards Buck. Without even thinking, the blond leaned forward, blowing lightly on the liquid before taking some of the spoon in his mouth. Immediately, he closed his eyes and let out a moan as the sweet chocolate flavor filled his mouth. The kick of heat wasn't as unpleasant as he had thought it'd be and yeah, he was really glad Eddie's abuela had shared that recipe with him.

Blue eyes met brown ones as they opened and Buck realized just how close the two were. It took a beat before either two separated and that was due to the sound of footsteps on the metal staircase. They immediately parted, Buck grabbing the spoon out of Eddie's hand and moving to put it into the sink as the brunet began to pour the Mexican hot chocolate into the two mugs. 

"Oooh, homemade hot chocolate. Did you save some for me?" Chim asked entering the kitchen, a hopeful smile on his face.

"Uh, yeah, there should be enough for you, Chim," Eddie said, making him smile and grab his favorite LAFD mug from the cabinet. 

As Eddie poured the the last of the chocolate-y liquid into Chim's mug, Buck began to top each mug with a few of the jumbo marshmallows. 

"Cheers," they said, clanging the mugs together.

Just as they took their first sip, the overhead fire alarm sounded through the entire firehouse. 

"Aw man," Buck said, pulling the mug from his lips as Chim and Eddie sighed and sprung into action, leaving their steaming mugs on the island counter top.

Not wanting to waste, Buck took a quick gulp of the drink, immediately regretting it due to how hot it was. His tongue and throat burned as he swallowed the hot liquid. Bobby speed-walked past the kitchen.

"Buck, lets go!" He called and Buck followed, looking longingly at the mug he was forced to leave on the counter.

# **********

Their shift was over just after they got back from the house fire so they couldn't finish their now-cooled hot chocolate. Saying good-bye to the team, they each went to their respective home. Immediately after getting home, Eddie relieved Carla and checked in on a sleeping Christopher. Deeming everything alright, he took a quick shower and climbed into bed.

Just as he was closing his eyes, his phone chimed with a text message. The brunet blindly reached for his phone, grabbing and checking the screen to see that it was a text from Buck. 

**Buck**

_I hope you know that you're making me that Mexican hot chocolate again. I'd like to actually enjoy it_

He smiled at the words on the screen, quickly thumbing a reply text.

**Eddie**

_Just say when ;)_

He hesitated to send the message with the wink emoji, especially after the moment that had earlier that he knew they should probably talk about, but also knew that they probably wouldn't. For weeks, Eddie had been seeing Buck in a slightly different light and Buck had been doing and saying things that meant that maybe he was feeling the shift, too, that maybe he was welcoming the shift.

There were so many reasons why Eddie didn't want to approach the topic and he was sure the other man also had his reservations. Still, he wasn't going to change or address the trajectory of their friendship until he felt that he needed to. It would probably be one of the most reckless things he had done in a while, but after losing Shannon, and the whole fight club thing, _and_ the lawsuit, well, Eddie could use a break right now, and he was going to take any one he could get.

Putting his phone back down on the nightstand, he rolled over and went to sleep. 


End file.
